Cultural Competence and Core Knowledge .. E.D. Hirsch

C-Span radio (.mp3)...
A panel on December 16th 2008 in Boston, which includes a main event speech by Professor E.D. Hirsch, addressing proposed Massachusetts legislation.
Access to rich knowledge through academic content.

Good books, good teachers, and midnight oil ....

Download here:
http://download-fp1.rbn.com/cspan/cspan/download/podaudio/belt021309_hirsch.mp3

Please let us have knowledge based learning. Perhaps our education policy needs to include many of Hirsch's ideas. Knowledge really is a good thing to have.
E.D. Hirsch was originally an English professor before he became an education expert.
In Massachusetts prior to 1992 gross funding inequities in public education resulted in so districts with only 30% of others. Many poor school districts practiced social promotion. Resulting in a failure to transmit knowledge.

Infusion of dollars came and with it standards that needed to be met.
This produced significant measurable educational improvement.